Jill Zarin of Real Housewives of NYC really can skate!

Stars, Stripes and Skates (a benefit to raise money for The Heritage Foundation of 9/11) held its eighth annual ice show in Danbury, Connecticut on September 26. Jill Zarin of The Real Housewives of New York City, a reality series broadcast on the Bravo network, was a special guest and introduced Johnny Weir. (photo above, Jill with emcee for the evening Frank DeCaro, host of Sirius OutQ satellite radio)

First, let me say this -- she can skate! I know, I know, what does that mean? That means the lady knows some technique -- she knows about edges, the proper entry into a spin, proper arm positions, and sort-of proper body alignment. I really was impressed. Second, she was warming up during the day with the performers in the show, who were doing the run-throughs of their programs. I don't know if that was the best time for her to make sure that she still had her moves. With skaters like Johnny Weir, Miki Ando, Nobunari Oda and Derrick Delmore going 100 mph doing their triples, I don't know how distracting Jill's presence was. Unfortunately, I think Miki's coach, Nikolai Morozov, decided that it was very distracting, she was cutting off too much of the ice, and that she must leave the ice asap. The rink already was smaller than normal due to the much-discussed (at least on the skating discussion boards) matting placed on the ice to allow more VIP seating. There was a bit of a verbal altercation (reportedly Nikolai screamed "Who is she!?!") and Jill's skating career was cut short.

I also had a chance to chat with Jill's daughter Allyson, who is on the national teen advisory board of Teen Turning Green, whose mission is to eliminate "toxic exposures in our daily lives, schools and communities." She didn't put her skates on but recalled fondly the days of going to Sky Rink at Chelsea Piers and Wollman Rink in Central Park. Maybe next year they'll do a short routine together on the ice.

Comments

[Phil Cohen]

I hope that the lady being featured in your article doesn't get discouraged that some famous skating champion or their coach kicked her off "their" rink. Remember, in the skating world, recreational skaters(even those who have had some lessons and have a small or medium-sized repertoire of skating "moves") seriously outnumber skating champions.
Though it may have been unpleasant to get kicked off the rink by some talented skaters that she probably admired.....keep on skating!
By the way, I remember one time when I was at a skating rink doing some spiral or jump, and there was this man with his little 4-year old or 5-year old son, and the little boy pointed at me and he said "Twicks!!!"(I.E. "tricks"). To me they are "Moves". It's not about tricking anybody.